#like they just want what's easily available to them

[bunabi]

I finished Veilguard btw so here's my long thoughts (be warned I've been writing notes during my entire playthrough so this is very long) for folks who want it:

My favorite parts of DAV:

Best level design in any DA so far. The platforming grew on me, and I think the levels were well-thought out and mostly fun to navigate. Arlathan Forest was exhausting but other areas felt nicely balanced with branching paths, hidden rooms, etc. Exploration in smaller contained maps done right imo.

Mage combat is really satisfying at higher levels. Pure ranged combat is totally impossible unless you have Davrin and Taash popping taunts back to back, but dropping a massive AOE while fighting close-range feels good too.

Being able to auto-equip and compare new gear is great.

Same with the codex entries. Not having to hunt down whatever note I just picked up is a huge improvement.

Upgrading equipment via duplicates incentivized treasure chest hunting, which I would have otherwise skipped lol. It really helped me slow down and take time exploring areas, and I appreciated that.

The final act didn't make the previous 70+ hours feel better, my fault for spoiling most of it for myself, but it was neat. Cool set pieces, cool fights. I was worried Elgar'nan was gonna have the same moveset as the Regrets, but his final battle was great.

Oh, I forgot Felassan! His notes were a tragic delight. Such a good man. Funny too. They didn't need to kill Varric to make Solas less sympathetic...I think Felassan's betrayal(s) serve that purpose well already.

Rook & Their Faction:

Without rehashing what I've said over the past few weeks: this is my least favorite protagonist.

Being a funny and sarcastic and irreverent hero in a DA game is not new. Not having a choice in the matter is. The Inquisitor was pretty fixed in their tone too (cant even choose a personality for them in CC) but even they had better aggressive options available.

Folks say not to judge Rook's depth by a Lord of Fortune playthrough but since factions are asymmetrical on purpose here are my impressions:

The Lords of Fortune didn't contribute to my run in any meaningful way other than getting Emmrich hot which is not unique, as it turns out, to any particular background. In fact, learning Natalene was a galley slave as an aside detracted from my experience. Being a former galley slave, former Circle mage (again: Rivain doesn't have Circles), semi-Dalish city elf with DIY vallaslin is unreal. Especially as characters continuously imply Rook is a young 20-something. The fact this wasn't immediately caught and course-corrected shows -- to me -- how hectic and spread-thin DAV's development really was. :(

Story & Antagonists:

Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have cackling witch disease. No motivations outside of power. That was a little disappointing. Was also hoping they'd at least comment on Rook/Davrin/Bellara's vallaslin but they're too busy plotting world domination to really notice. Love their designs though. I'd love to hear a deep dive on how they animated Ghil's tentacles.

Veilguard feels like an immediate follow-up to Trespasser, not the ten year timeskip it says it is. I wonder if that's a symptom of adapting the live service story (content that was likely meant to stretch, similar to Anthem and Destiny, over a decade) for single-player.

I miss the politically-motivated meddling. Every villain is allied with the Evanuris. We needed some that aren't. The Right and Left Hand of the Black Divine, corrupt brothers of the Imperial Chantry, the agents of the Archon, a Minrathous street gang, some Rivaini pirates, anything, anyone.

It's crazy how all elven resistance seemed to evaporate with the dissolution of the Dread Wolf Army. As much as I'd hate seeing them duped and betrayed by Solas…I prefer that to just pretending everything's fine now. I could easily see alienage elves and slaves take Cyrian's path, desperate for change no matter the source, especially since oppression is all they've known and there's no end to it in sight. Especially with their gods confirmed as the source of the blight. All downhill from here I fear.

The Butcher. Would. That voice and that frame....it purred I fear. But even he was not immune to cackling witch disease. Wish he stuck around longer for personal reasons. My South is under siege and I aint talking about Ferelden.

Combat:

I found myself switching builds a lot, which was nice and kept things fresh. That being said: DAV needed loadouts for skills and equipment and a menu showing active passive skills + enchantments. A QOL update for this stuff would have been amazing. I want to try an archer run, but I dread (🐺) fussing with skill tree nodes again.

After fighting Mythal (my first full dragon fight) I was disappointed how all dragons share her same attack patterns. They didn't have to reinvent the wheel or anything -- this was the case with dragon battles in DAI and I thought it was fine -- but Mythal of all enemies should have been unique.

High-level demons are limited to Rage and Pride. High-level darkspawn are limited to Ogres. I miss those little scrungly lookin' despair demons and nasty ass hurlock emissaries. After 60 hours I did get a little tired of the same handful of mobs over and over.

Companions & NPCs:

The Veilguardians feel like my kids. Except Emmrich who's absolutely convinced he's in an age-gap relationship with my older lady Rook. It's not that they're uniquely dependent or rudderless, it's that their struggles are solved with nurturing pep talks. Reaffirm their worth, give them a hug, and all that inner turmoil is cancelled. Rich coming from the 'I should have been able to influence my companions more in DAI' girl, but Rook's impact on the Veilguard, the way their doubts vanish completely via some life coaching, feels off.

Speculation: I think the companions were originally planned to be NPCs. Their written banter in some of the notes, their verbal banter throughout the Lighthouse, they feel like they're meant to stay in the hub and act as quest-givers in the live service game. Especially with how Rook is excluded. That's fine btw it just helps explains some things. (Just remembered something else: when you talk to quest NPCs out in the world and the camera focuses in on the conversation, you can't see your companions. They chime in with disembodied voices, always hidden out of frame. That also gives me the feeling they were added later. Not confirmed btw just my hunch!)

Torn about Taash. I love them for breaking the 'agreeable companion' monotony but hate the ~animalistic race~ tropes they were saddled with. I've had issues with Weekes' handling of race and culture in the past. I'm disappointed to see it continue a decade later. I'll leave it there. Sten cannot smell ovulating coochie!

I tried to kill Lucanis during the final assault. Had full faction strength but I didn't complete his personal quest. It didn't work. Sorry Zevran!

Shathann's VA was acting her ass off. Great performance. Absolute bars from Taash's VA during their scenes too.

I dreaded (🐺) opening the Lighthouse map to see who wanted to talk. I usually love chopping it up and getting to know my party; that's my favorite part of any DA game. But so many conversations were just spent restating the obvious (Bellara is worried about The Gods and her brother, Harding is worried about her powers and Solas, Davrin is worried about the griffons and Gloom Howler, you know like in case you forgot). Running person-to-person-to-person and feeling no sense of accomplishment or progress for it seriously drained me.

The Inquisitor… I assumed vowing to stop Solas would block my Lavellan from pining and questioning herself after a decade apart and two very clear rejections. She kept asking whether he could still be reasoned with even in the midst of the final operation. I'm disappointed how little that choice mattered in the end. The second-hand embarrassment was crazyyy.

Romance:

Now this part is a little unique. Sorry for what I'm about to say about Emmrich. If it helps: I found him the most fun of all the companions. He's handsome, thoughtful, and has a fascinating past. But I ended up being dissatisfied by the end, and not just because of being soft-locked into a May-December fling, cringe commentary from Rook, and feeling like I was straight-up harassing Emmrich in early flirting dialogue.

The main issue: I don't care for the Mourn Watch. I like the Mourn Watch characters, but the organization makes me crazy. We hear so little about how they function in the context of an Andrastian nation like Nevarra. Summoning the dead in a world that still believes souls join the Maker's side in the Fade is huge. I wanted to really dig into discussions on the afterlife but in the end I'm supposed to go 'waow cool skeletons' and forget that religion is such an important facet of Thedas. I was so bummed!

I made him a Lich because he didn't seem to care either way. Reuniting him with Manfred is morally good, turning him into an eternal protector of the Necropolis is morally good. Emmrich is happy with whatever, so I gave him whatever, and I said 'whatever' when it was all over. My god is that man cute, but the romance overall just didn't do it for me.

Should've known when I saw his rotunda lol Bioware you sly dogs you got me again!

Personal final thoughts:

Well? I don't think I'm sad anymore, but I am left with complicated feelings. Obviously things are a little different for me being an EA Partner and getting an idea of just how much work has gone into making the game exist period. And I think because I can't blame it all on one person, shit all over it, and move on that these feelings are just kinda churning with nowhere to go.

Things could have been handled better. Didn't like the attempt to hide the world states until launch, or the dismissive comments from writers about it. Didn't like the AMA answers. And this isn't really my business but I'll say it anyway: I feel like the community council was thrown to the wolves, having to base their DA4 impressions around the sliver of content they were allowed to see, and having a much more hands-off role than implied.

I hope DAV is taken as an opportunity to refocus, double-down on what makes Dragon Age so beloved, and lean into those strengths unapologetically. Easier said than done -- as much as I loved Swen's speech about creating games free of marketing expectations and mimicking the latest trends that's often times impossible -- but I want to believe it can be done in this case.

Anyway both Sabine & my antibiotics are complete and I'm overcoming my moodiness and getting back to work on commissions! I've cured the Blight in more ways than one! 😄

[vhs-consumer]

Another FOP AU because yeah, yappfest under cut

Memory Wipe AU

I had an idea some time ago for a scenario where the fairy council, in order to calm Poof down after losing Timmy and to stop him from destroying FairyWorld, decided to remove his memories of Tim, and then I thought, but what if it went wrong?

Basically, the memory wipe fails and instead of just removing Poofs memories of Timmy, it removed all his memories, it also caused general memory issues

CosWan still go on their long vacation here, they thought that Poof got better, after all he seems to remember most of the things now and insists that it's not a problem anymore, that his memory's better

Well, it was not better, in fact his memory issues got worse and worse over the years (but he didn't want to be a burden to them, so he never told them), he even sometimes forgets who he is or to use magic or that he even can do that, which leads to him having magical backups often

The name change still happens, one time when he forgot who he is again Poof found a periwinkle flower and it gave him the idea that if he can't remember his old name anyway then why not pick a new one, even after getting reminded of the old one he still sticks with Peri, he keeps the flower with him at all times, it helps him remember who he is,,, most of the time

Irep, not wanting to die early because of his counterpart exploding keeps an eye on him, he'd much rather destroy Peri himself after all! (Hes actually concerned about Peri, but he wouldn't admit it unti it was too late)

Irep also once suggested that Peri should keep notes of things to not forget them so easily, and so he did, he keeps a little notebook with informations about others and things that happened with him at (almost) all times, he even has little doodles there to easier remember who is who

Both Irep and Peri get assigned to Dev, but it was actually Irep that went to godparenting school here, Peris there mostly to just, not explode from magical backup, since he's also a godparent now he has to use magic more, hopefully, if he doesn't forget

Irep told Peri once about what happened, what caused his memory problems, this made Peri not trust the Fairy Council at first, but then it spread to other fairies in general, he doesn't remember exactly why anymore but he knows not to trust them (it happened b4 he got a notebook so he doesnt have it noted anywhere, just a feeling left)

The Timmy part of the spell did actually work, Peri is unable to perceive anything about him, if someone says his name, to Peri it just sounds like incoherent noise, if he sees a picture it looks blurry or even distorted

Irep and Dev tried removing the memory spell from Peri, few times even, to no avail, the original spell was supposed to be unremovable by magic, and only be reversed if Peri would happen to see Timmy in person, which had very little chances of happening at the time, but unfortunately, it's too late now, and even if Peri were to see him again, to Peri he would just look, wrong

After some years everyone slowly started to look wrong, Peri's perception of reality is breaking, he can't look at their faces anymore, in his eyes they look disturbing, all twisted, disgusting, it makes him nauseous

Only one face stayed the same trough all of this, but who could be this blue square headed guy? Peri wishes he could remember.

Alt versions

[crownmemes]

Assorted Media Sentences, Vol. 19

(Sentences from various pieces of media. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"Sometimes what you don't know can tell you everything."

"I'd gladly crater her skull."

"I love you. I don't have anything- I mean, I haven't got a ring or anything, but will you marry me?"

"You dismiss me at your peril."

"Actually, when you get to know me, I'm a fairly sentimental type of guy."

"The world you live in is Just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it - the real world. If you want to survive it, you better learn to pull the trigger!"

"You didn't see anything, alright?"

"I'm going to tell you something that's going to make you angry, but just know that I'm angry too."

"Everyone loses faith at some point in their life."

"To build something like that would require tools and metal alloys that aren't exactly available at Home Depot!"

"What we're dealing with here is a perfect engine. An eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution!"

"They're not attacking your policies - they're attacking your age."

"I fell in love with you before I even met you."

"Isn't it amazing how quickly everyone can turn against you?"

"The taking of a human life is just intoxicating."

"If I get murdered in my sleep, I guess that's on you!"

"I know you think you're helping, but you're doing more harm than good."

"You haven't been to bed, have you?"

"I don't like hurting people. This world has more than enough suffering without extra contributions from me."

"We're going to have to work on our communication."

"The night, I think, is darker than we can really say."

"In case you haven't noticed, we are having a little bit of a crisis here!"

"I think I like it here. Very quaint and quiet."

"I'm going to be special. You'll see."

"I didn't know you were so easily seduced!"

"I'm just going to come out and say it; I don't trust you. I sure as hell don't want you here."

"Things have gotten out of hand. Maybe it's time we all slowed down. Took a breath."

"Don't you die on me! You hear me?"

"You've got to stay lean, mean, and full of caffeine!"

"You've gone soft. We're going to fix that, for your own benefit."

"Don't worry, he's one of us."

"Where were you when I was still kind?"

"A cold heart is a dead heart."

"Men are like dogs - they like being stroked, but for God's sake, don't let them hump your leg!"

"I don't want you to leave. It's the last thing that I want."

"I'd tread very carefully if I were you. You, of all people, should know what I am capable of."

"You don't seem to share much with your daughter."

"I bet you're a good kisser."

"You're on thin ice!"

"Is it true that most people get attacked by sharks in three feet of water, about ten feet from the beach?"

"Why do you stay?"

[allthebestcowgirls]

one thing i don't get is people expecting the oppenheimer biopic to focus on anything other than.... oppenheimer and his life/ perspective. and i think people are telling on themselves bc there is surely an abundance of art made by japanese people about their experience of the bombings so really people should be looking into that instead i think yk? idk it's just like certain art is about certain subject matter and oppenheimer is about oppenheimer...

[alexcabotgf]

not to be true crime posting on main but i think i'm falling down the wm3 rabbit hole again

[charity-angel]

I once reported my local bus operator to the council (licencing agency) because of shit like this.

It was mid-winter, so it was dark and effing freezing. I was still walking, but only just.

The bus was early. I could see it already at the stop as I left work. I should have had plenty of time, but no, early.

I quite literally held out one of my crutches to try and get the bus to stop and let me know, but she drove right past. This woman KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY left a disabled woman on her own, in the dark, in sub-zero temperatures, to wait for the next bus, due in over an hour.

So, I managed to get myself to the bus stop and, following the company's published queries & complaints procedure, reached out on Twitter. (yes, it was still twitter, and even then I don't care what The Idiot says, it's still bloody twitter) to ask what their policies were about leaving timed stops early, and leaving vulnerable people behind.

They failed to respond.

You may also not be surprised to learn that the next bus was 20 mins late. I waited about 90 mins in the end.

Multiple tweets happen, over weeks, all of which were ignored. So eventually I reached out to the council, since they're the ones who licence the bus companies. Asked for their help, gave them all the tweets, the company complaints procedure - everything.

They get me a BS reply that basically blamed me for being late, though they admit that the driver should not have left me behind. They even thoughtfully included a video from the dash-cam clearly showing me hailing the bus. It was timestamped (just, by about 2 seconds) after the time the bus should have left, justifying their victim blaming.

However, their Twitter policy? That's how to reach them? That turned round and bit them in the ass. How?

I didn't even look up their complaint policy until I got to the bus stop. Using mobility aids isn't exactly conducive to browsing on the go, after all. Then I had to find them on twitter, type out the tweet, and send it. That took several minutes. And Twitter timestamps its tweets, to the actual, correct time. My tweet was sent two minutes BEFORE the bus should have left.

I still had to involve the council to get a response to that! And even then it was still along the lines that I should have been at the stop, waiting, when the bus arrived. Never mind that they were probably almost 10 mins early. And the council guy would be well aware that they aren't allowed to leave a timed stop (one where they HAVE to wait if they're running ahead of schedule) until the actual time it's due to leave. And this is in a 100% commercial estate - only the workers use it, and we kind of have working hours... It's not exactly our fault if they can't keep to their own schedule.

Still never got an actual proper apology, or any form of recompense. Just excuses that I very easily managed to disprove as legit even though they still clung to them.

Oh, and apparently my complaint, which by the point it would have been read was more about the systemic disregard they showed for their customers and their complaints procedure, made the driver cry - yeah, they went THAT LOW with the victim blaming.

No - she "cried" (if that's to be believed) because she got caught. On her own dashcam, no less. She knew exactly what she was doing when she veered into the centre of the road to leave my disabled ass behind. My hail to her was THAT clear, that obvious, she pulled out to go around my extended crutch. And that's on the dashcam too.

A woman made an active CHOICE to leave another woman behind, in the cold and dark. And somehow she and her boss managed to make it my fault.

And they wonder why people don't want to use public transit even when it is available...

the bus stop sunk cost fallacy

[novelconcepts]

hi novel! do you have any meta / thoughts on taissa’s relationships with simone and sammy? I really want them to go into that more, similar to the shauna-jeff-callie storyline in s2

Simone and Sammy are what should have been. The life Taissa would have led if they’d never crashed. Even if it wasn’t Simone, even if it was Van, the idea of the perfect happy family is what matters. I think it matters that she’s the only one we see have a warm moment with her parents before the crash; that would shape her whole outlook. Grow up, go to good schools, get a great job, marry a beautiful woman, build a life that makes sense. And we know from Tai telling Shauna about her dream life: this is exactly the path she takes. Shauna’s dreams change utterly as soon as they crash; Tai, the bastion of repression, doesn’t change hers at all. She comes home, and she’s different, she’s traumatized, she has lost and hurt and has all these horrible dark secrets—but she believes if she just works hard enough, she can overwrite the shadows with the light of a life she’s wanted all along.

The problem with this as it applies to Simone and Sammy is they’re not plans, they’re not dreams, they’re people—and to have the meaningful, wonderful relationships that make that Perfect Life, she needs to be able to communicate with them as such. And she doesn’t. She doesn’t let herself. She won’t explain anything of what she went through to her wife; even when push comes to panicked shove, she just demands Simone leave her alone. She doesn’t even feel that “it” factor when it comes to Simone, because she can’t let herself. She’s forever tied intensity of feeling to a loss of control, a loss of who she was “meant to be” before the accident.

Her family, her job, all of it is emblematic of Before Tai. The Tai who didn’t have a sleepwalking problem, who never watched her girlfriend get nearly mauled to death, who never ate her friends to stay alive, who never gave into the hunt. It can’t ever be healthy, for her or for Simone and Sammy, until she accepts that Before Tai is gone. She’s been stitched together with the Taissa who survived the wilderness. And accepting that runs contrary to the perfect life she’s tried so hard to create. She can fall back into old habits with her old friends and old love, but the new version of her? That Taissa isn’t allowed those behavior patterns.

It’s really interesting looking at her family vs Shauna’s, because 1) they’re the only two of the core six to build a traditional family post-rescue, and 2) Shauna tries to play the same game—except the “dream life” she’s living isn’t Shauna’s at all. It’s Jackie’s. Or what she feels she stole from Jackie. And because of that, because Jeff and Callie were never Shauna’s dream, I think it makes it a little easier to let them into the darkness. Tai won’t let herself do that, because it’d be admitting a kind of defeat, and that really isn’t Tai’s style.

[waitineedaname]

beloved tumblr mutual...... i see you post all the time about the show(?) with the pretty long hair men...... but dear lord what is it about. ive tried to piece it together but i just cannto understand. help me. help me beloved tumblr mutual. i need to know a vague summary !! :)

this series is always difficult to summarize concisely, but I will do my best!

the long hair prettymen series you're likely referring to is Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/MDZS/The Untamed! it was originally a BL novel series, but it was also made into a wildly successful live action drama (The Untamed) which was my avenue into the series! it's about the rise and fall of Wei Wuxian, an extremely talented cultivator (sword wizard) who goes from celebrated war hero to reviled necromancer. the series opens with his death and then resurrection 13~16 years later. it's about necromancy and the horrors of war and politics and reputation and the rumor mill and family and sacrifice, but it's also about what if the class clown bad boy and hall monitor valedictorian were madly in love with each other. it's also about one kid having a shit ton of uncles. it's great! I cannot recommend it enough, it's truly a delight to read and watch, even when it's supremely corny. the creator does a fantastic job of balancing humor and tragedy, and the characters make me want to eat drywall

however, the waters may be muddy, because recently I have started posting about another long haired prettyboy series, which is Scum Villain's Self-Saving System! it's another novel series by the same author as MDZS and I'm only halfway through it, but I'm having a great time. it's about a dude getting isekai'd into an absolutely horrible web novel that he obsessively hates, and he gets thrown in the villain's role. it's hysterical, and also has been shredding my heart periodically. but it's mostly very funny, and I'm obsessed with the characters. everyone in this series needs serious help, they're all fucked in the head

[awakefor48hours]

Fanfic Writer Interview

Thank you for tagging me, Alex. I liked this one.

How many works do you have on AO3?

16 works (also maybe a few I've published anonymously but you didn't hear that from me).

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Just Another Adrichat Fanfiction

The Maribug Fic -- Rewritten

The Threads That Bind Us

"I Release You From Existence"

Maribug fic {discontinued/rewrite available}

I promise I'll update the Maribug fic soon.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, I'm just very bad at getting to people in time. I've left a lot unanswered that I want to get to soon.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Definitely "I Release You From Existence"

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Probably Hidden In The Sand

Do you write crossovers?

I used to be against crossovers but then I started shipping Azulanette and well here we are

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No and thank goodness, I don't have the energy for that.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I wish I knew how to write smut. I think I've written 5 in total and I haven't written a smut fic since 2015. I only published one of them, and all I remember is just being too embarrassed by it then deleting it after 20 minutes. I do want to publish a smut fic again one day (and keep it up for at least a day) so that's something.

But mark my words, when Elon Musk dies, I'm publishing a smut fic for Caitlyn and Vi.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No but if I ever did have one stolen, I don't think I'd do anything. I don't have enough energy to deal with something like that.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but I wish I knew I could. If I had more time, I would love to start learning French or Spanish again to translate my fics.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No and I'm on the fence about this because I had to do a few group projects this semester and I remembered that I don't work well with other people. I'm not completely against co-writing a fic but it's definitely not on my to-do list.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

This is so hard and I don't know if I have one necessarily. Obviously ships like Lumity, Regron, Korrasami, or Bubbline are some of my favorites but I don't know if I'd say any of these are my favorite of all-time. I have so many ships and it would take a long time to even begin to narrow down my 10 favorite of all time.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have so many WIPs but I do plan to get to all of them so I don't think any of them are abandoned.

What are your writing strengths?

I want to say character relationships.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I get side tracked easily, which is exactly what's happening with my fic Blue Birds and Fire. The doc has over 12k words but I haven't finished the second chapter because ever time I sit down and write it, I get side tracked and write a completely different chapter. This is also why I prefer the entire fic to be done to avoid long hiatuses like the one I'm currently facing with BBaF. (It will update, I promise).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I try to avoid doing this unless I know for a fact what I'm writing. As mentioned, I know some Spanish and French, I also know a little Japanese which do help sometimes but not all the time. I rarely ever use Google Translate and I usually do when it's a word I know but can't remember. But if I ever write for a language I don't know, I just write in English and use italics.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

SO MANY. I have a few unpublished lumity fics sitting my drafts, a few Peacemaker fics, a few more Black Clover fics, and as late a few DanDaDan fics. The romantic couple I want to write a fic for the most is probably Bunnyleona/One Fight Stand because they're two female characters that tried to kill each other and I'm me. Also, I love their dynamic and it's a shame that they only had the one interaction in the movie. The platonic couple I want to write for the most is definitely Chris and Leota from Peacemaker.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Easily gonna go with my Adrichat fic, what started off as a oneshot sleep deprived idea turned into an entire fic. I've never had more fun writing a fic in my life and it's the main reason why I'm even writing fanfictions again. Without it, who knows if Azulanette would even exist.

tagging > @secretly-of-course because you're the only moot I have who writes fanfiction + anyone else who wants to join

Fanfic writer interview!

tagged by @ashenaura. Merci bien ! ;)

How many works do you have on AO3?

145.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I'll Follow

Where The Heart Is

Your World

Everything and More

Brittlest

(... yup, it's all SAU and those numbers will never not shock me)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course. It might take me forever (my inbox is staring at me dead in the eyes), but I will respond. It means the world to me and if anyone makes the effort, they deserve a response. Easy.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I need happy endings with my angst so... yeah. I think... Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) is quite sad.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I guess the SAU has the happiest ending. Everything And More's last chapter is literally sunshine and calmness which, yk, is needed after the whole thing.

Do you write crossovers?

I've just gotten into it! I didn't see the hype before but um that was because I never tried to mash together the right verses I think. The Arkham Horror x Black Clover crossover is very dear to me.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

*touching wood* Nope.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written steamy but never full smut. Well, I've written bits. But they're unpublished and I don't think I ever will publish them soooo yeah.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Someone translated Her Most Precious Memories in Russian (Её самые драгоценные воспоминания).

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Just like crossovers, I'm just getting into it. And just like crossovers, I'm absolutely loving it.

@kalolasfantasyworld knows. We've written that Olympics Swimming one, Silver Scorching Interdimensional Slash: the Magical Medley Relay of Doom, and we're writing the most wonderful Formula for a Crush.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

All time favorite... royai probably.

it's just the angst... it's just the sillies... it's just the war criminals... there's a dog... they're both so stupid... i love them...

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

fhjfhds all of them. If I start a wip it's that I want to see it finished (because I want to read it). Sadly, I often don't have the motivation to. The wip list is ever growing.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and internal monologues, I think.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Besides everything syntax and grammar-related because what even is English, I'd say description, especially of action scenes. It takes me forever to even dare put down a few words and I always feel like I'm describing like a 7yo would (no shade to 7yo but surely with 20 more years on this planet I should be able to do better).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I did it in Formula for a Crush for Vanessa and Helena because Helena typically does it so it felt normal to As long as it's one word or one expression I don't really mind. (my Italian is non-existent and my Spanish is uhhh not good so, there's that.).

In my own work, I prefer to keep it in English and italicize. Less risk to completely fumble a whole language.

(I just realized that Zora doesn't even utter one word in French in FFAC and I'm French [I dare think I can speak and write the language relatively well]. so it's less down to messing up a language than personal preferences in writing ig..? I never really thought about it.)

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Nothing comes to mind. Rarepair Week was a great occasion to tick some of these boxes too.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I've had this question ten thousand times and I think I reply differently every time dhjfdjskj. It's a tough one.

Right now I'm having a lot of fun with Formula for a Crush (nah, you can't tell with how much I'm talking about it).

what even is football anyway will always be very dear to me and I'll probably say it's this one.

Blue Hours (and its sequel, I might even like the sequel more simply for the rant about the dishes) is special because I loved the concept and I experienced a bit with the narration.

Thicker Than Blood because it's a longer one and it was a really non-pressure kind of fic (I expected no one to read it so I really had fun)

Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) and posing questions to a silent universe (my very thoughts a curse) for some nice Mia angst.

Lost in a storm, It’s a big office, chief, for some nice Phoenix angst.

Tell Me About Cruelty means a lot to me.

(you might realize: I cannot choose. I'm looking at the 145 fics and I'm like. they're all special to me in some way. even those I wish I could erase from the face of the earth I'm like. I like that line, that scene, that hug. it's terrible and it's wonderful.)

--

tagging (no pressure, do it if you want) @kalolasfantasyworld (because ofc I'm tagging you), @wildflowerwoodsworld

[marypsue]

Related to that last post -

I have semi-followed jfashion/lolita fashion blogs for pretty much my entire internet career. One of the things that I see really frequently on 'outfit of the day' posts from these blogs is that they'll list the brands where they got an article if it's a Known Brand. Then, at the end of the post, there's an 'everything else offbrand'.

I get why this happens. But I've rotated in my mind for a while now the concept of doing a fashion blog where the outfit info breaks down where every single item comes from, not just the expensive fashion brand items. Because I think there's an unintended impression that comes from these kinds of posts that, if you want a coordinated outfit in a specific style that looks good, you have to spend a lot of money.

You can do that, if that's an option for you! And there are ways to get that Brand Look, if it's the brand you're attached to, without spending Brand Money. Secondhand sales are major in that sphere of fashion, as are (at least in lolita fashion) replicas, which have been controversial but I support on the simple principle that they extend the size range in which certain designs that are never produced above a Large are available in.

But moving outside the circles of jfashion and lolita fashion (and, heck, even including them), I do think there could be value in more people who dress up in cool outfits providing a source for everything they're wearing. Because sometimes an investment item can make an outfit. But more often, I've found, it's everything else you wear with the investment item that really showcases the investment item and creates a look, instead of just...wearing an expensive thing that came from a big name brand.

And I don't think it'd be a bad thing, especially in this age of internet fashion people and conspicuous consumption and kids getting the impression that subculture fashion has to be expensive and brand-name, to remind people how your own personal taste and judgment can be used to create Outfits and Looks without having to spend a lot of money or own any big name brand items, at all.

[burinazar]

I was thinking “haha it’s so weird and silly i got soOOO into this one very specific part/arc/related minor-ish character group of a franchise, i haven’t done that before have i? this is a new weirdness for me isn’t it?”

and then suddenly vividly remembered my inconvenient and untenable and frankly quite extreme obsession with the romulan star empire all throughout middle school, with such force and clarity that i had to put a hand to my face

[grassbreads]

Oh shit, Silent Reading finally got licensed by Seven Seas

This is exciting for me as a priest fan, but less exciting as someone who enjoys E. Danglars's translations.

[goatsandgangsters]

how to find literally any post on a blog in seconds (on desktop)

there are so many posts about ~tumblr is so broken, you can’t find any post on your own blog, it’s impossible, bluhrblub~

I am here to tell you otherwise! it is in fact INCREDIBLY easy to find a post on a blog if you’re on desktop/browser and you know what you’re doing:

url.tumblr.com/tagged/croissant will bring up EVERY post on the blog tagged with the specific and exact phrase #croissant. every single post, every single time. in chronological order starting with the most recent post. note: it will not find #croissants or that time you made the typo #croidnssants. for a tag with multiple words, it’s just /tagged/my-croissant and it will show you everything with the exact phrase #my croissant

url.tumblr.com/tagged/croissant/chrono will bring up EVERY post on the blog tagged with the exact phrase #croissant, but it will show them in reverse order with the oldest first 

url.tumblr.com/search/croissant isn’t as perfect at finding everything, but it’s generally loads better than the search on mobile. it will find a good array of posts that have the word croissant in them somewhere. could be in the body of the post (op captioned it “look at my croissant”) or in the tags (#man I want a croissant). it won’t necessarily find EVERYTHING like /tagged/ does, but I find it’s still more reliable than search on mobile. you can sometimes even find posts by a specific user by searching their url. also, unlike whatever random assortment tumblr mobile pulls up, it will still show them in a more logically chronological order

url.tumblr.com/day/2020/11/05 will show you every post on the blog from november 5th, 2020, in case you’re taking a break from croissants to look for destiel election memes 

url.tumblr.com/archive/ is search paradise. easily go to a particular month and see all posts as thumbnails! search by post type! search by tags but as thumbnails now

url.tumblr.com/archive/filter-by/audio will show you every audio post on your blog (you can also filter by other post types). sometimes a little imperfect if you’re looking for a video when the op embedded the video in a text post instead of posting as a video post, etc

url.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/croissant will show you EVERY post on the blog tagged with the specific and exact phrase #croissant, but it will show you them in the archive thumbnail view divided by months. very useful if you’re looking for a specific picture of a croissant that was reblogged 6 months ago and want to be able to scan for it quickly 

url.tumblr.com/archive/filter-by/audio/tagged/croissant will show you every audio post tagged with the specific phrase #croissant (you can also filter by photo or text instead, because I don’t know why you have audio posts tagged croissant) 

the tag system on desktop tumblr is GENUINELY amazing for searching within a specific blog! 

caveat: this assumes a person HAS a desktop theme (or “custom theme”) enabled. a “custom theme” is url.tumblr.com, as opposed to tumblr.com/url. I’ve heard you have to opt-into the former now, when it used to be the default, so not everyone HAS a custom theme where you can use all those neat url tricks. 

if the person doesn’t have a “custom theme” enabled, you’re beholden to the search bar. still, I’ve found the search bar on tumblr.com/url is WAY more reliable than search on mobile. for starters, it tends to bring posts up in a sensible order, instead of dredging up random posts from 2013 before anything else

if you’re on mobile, I’m sorry. godspeed and good luck finding anything. (my one tip is that if you’re able to click ON a tag rather than go through the search bar, you’ll have better luck. if your mutual has recently reblogged a post tagged #croissant, you can click #croissant and it’ll bring up everything tagged #croissant just like /tagged/croissant. but if there’s no readily available tag to click on, you have to rely on the mobile search bar and its weird bizarre whims) 

[a-soft-fluffy-girl]

TL;DR: Steam just made library sharing so much fucking easier and so much fucking better. Instead of login-trading, it's just a simple goddamn invite.

Read this. Really. It's a good read. Because it shows that, full-stop, Valve isn't just doubling down on their stance to make sure that people can and should be able to share their copies of digital goods as easily as they can physical ones, but they're making it better and easier than ever.

But you know how Steam allowed you to, with either friends or family, link accounts with another person to be able to establish an ability to share game libraries with one another? The general gist of Steam Family Sharing was that, with a limit of five people plus you (six in total) on a limit of ten computers total could share account access to willingly mix your libraries. You could play theirs. They could play yours.

This was a huge boon. It was meant to emulate sharing a physical copy of a game. A way to allow children to play games their parents or siblings had bought without having to fork over double the cash to buy it a second game. But it had some major limitations and drawbacks, and was archaic to use.

If a person did not share the same computer, you had to manually log into that computer to give it and the accounts on it access. This wouldn't be a problem if both accounts were used on the same computer, but many households (and astronomically more family and friend groups) had multiple computers, all used by different people.

If that computer, at any point, was hard reset to any point before the sharing occurred, you lost access. And had to do the whole process again. This was also an issue with computer transfers. The whole kit and kaboodle needed to be redone on upgrades. On top of that, the old computer is now just dead weight that you may not realize you have to manually revoke access to.

Putting your account information on another person's computer opens up security issues. They could, intentionally or accidentally, land themselves on your account if the login information was stored. Which could easily lead to purchases or bans you did not want to happen.

If anyone was, at any point, playing any game on their own library, you had no access to their games. Even if it was a totally different game, you had to wait your turn as if waiting for their computer to be freed up to sit at. (Admittedly this is kind of like the "mom said it's my turn on the xbox" meme, but hey, kinda archaic.)

You could not choose whose library you accessed a game from. Not at all. It always prioritized the first library it gained access from, DLC access and multiplayer be damned. If another friend you were accepting games from had more DLC? Too bad.

And yet here we are. Steam Families Beta fixes EVERYTHING about the above issues. By just going through Settings > Interface > client Beta Participation and clicking onto Steam Families Beta? You get:

No more login sharing. No more computer links. You can now choose which person's library you borrowed from. And you can play any other game from someone's library, even while they're in-game. It just needs to be a different game than what they're playing.

Pick five people. Invite them to your family. And now everyone has access to everyone's library. My goddamn library went from 150-ish to almost a goddamn thousand in ten minutes of setup.

Account sharing and password sharing are dirty words that "lose" billions of dollars. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Max. They aren't game storefronts, but they still allow you to access massive libraries and scream like you murdered their firstborns for daring to share your password with your mother after you moved out.

Microsoft tried pushing to demonize and undercut used games sales and borrowed copies of physical games. Remember the first attempt to reveal the Xbox One? People forget, but these vultures tried to make an always online console that checked to see if you were the account that owned the game, even if you had a physical disc, and prevent access to the disc's contents if you weren't the original downloader.

Valve walked the fuck up. Valve tapped the mic. And Valve dropped the fucking thing right onto the ground with one feature's revamp.

About the only issues I can see with this are twofold:

If someone sharing your library gets banned from a game's servers... so do you. No one else in the family does, but the both of you do. This is... rather unpleasant, because banhammers can be dropped quite frequently by mistake. I'd urge Valve to rethink this one, but I see the logic: don't cheat and effectively bite the hand feeding you. Still making me side-eye that, though.

If you leave a family you've joined? You have to wait a YEAR to join a new one. It's to prevent people form jumping ship to another group and screwing over who's in the former one in the process, but a YEAR? OUCH.

Problems aside, though... it's probably the biggest fucking power move I have ever seen a media distributor make in the current economic climate. It's the kind of thing that would let so many new games be available in a way that's easier than ever. Just a few clicks to send or accept an invite, and bam. Permanent access to dozens or even hundreds of new games with so much more freedom than earlier drafts of the system.

It's the kind of thing that slaps you in the face with positivity after so many Ls from the games and media industries. And I'm all the fuck for a W like this.

[caelivir]

“are ya sure yer not dating (y/n)?” osamu suddenly asks his brother during a quiet lunch between the two of them.

atsumu chokes on the grains of rice in his mouth, coughing violently and punching his chest. when he finally settles down, he throws a glare at his brother. “what the hell, ‘samu?”

“that’s not an answer.” osamu continues to press.

“we’re not!” atsumu answers, picking up a piece of chicken katsu with his chopsticks. “i don’t like them like that. they don’t like me like that. we’re just friends.”

the bright red-pink of his ears speak otherwise. you see, osamu knows his twin better than he knows himself. he knows that whatever comes out of atsumu’s mouth is a load of crap. just friends? yeah fucking right.

osamu has never seen his brother look at anyone the way he looks at you, starlight and pure adoration swirling in his irises. he acts as if your every word were an earth-shaking prophecy sent by the heavens. his honey brown eyes stare, and he smiles so gently that it makes him sick.

friends aren’t touchy in the way you guys are. you hold each other’s hand like it’s nothing. with interlocked fingers, atsumu will trace his thumb down the back of your hand for no apparent reason. when you’re bored, you’ll take atsumu’s hand into your lap and play with it, bending his fingers, comparing hand sizes, and running a featherlight touch across the expanse of his palm to see if he’ll react.

osamu notices how you never miss the opportunity to find a seat on his brother’s lap. whether there are no seats of available or ten open ones, you will always choose atsumu. and it’s not like he’s complaining about it. in fact, osamu thinks that he waits for it because atsumu would never want to miss the chance to secure his arms around your waist and whisper into your ear amidst a loud conversation.

and you can’t forget the cuddles, and the hugs that linger longer than they should, and the way you’ll cup atsumu’s face, and the way you play with his piss blond hair.

you’re the one person atsumu lets wear his jersey to his game. he ensures you get the best seat to watch him play. osamu doesn’t miss the way his twin looks at you before every serve or the way you cheer the loudest when he scores an ace.

osamu doesn’t think that someone who “doesn’t like you” would be thinking about you every time they shop. “(y/n) likes this snack”. “(y/n) would love this shirt”. “oh hey, (y/n) showed me this”. “‘samu, should i buy this for (y/n)?”.

osamu has never seen two people so madly in love before. he doesn’t know how you guys haven’t realized it yet. and he can’t keep playing along because atsumu’s katsu looks really good right now.

“right…” osamu chooses to answer, dipping his chicken into the tonkatsu sauce. “i sure hope they’re gonna have fun on that date they have today.”

his brother’s chopsticks clatter onto the table before rolling onto the floor. the sight of atsumu’s open mouth filled with rice is unsightly, and osamu has to suppress his laugh.

“they didn’t tell you?” osamu raises an eyebrow.

“no?!” atsumu suddenly stands, slamming his palms into the table.

“yeah, i think they’re gonna leave soon.” osamu lies easily. there is no date. but of course, does ‘tsumu really need to know that?

the blond twin practically bolts away from the dining table and out of the house. when the door slams shut, osamu grins to himself, reaching for the unfinished plate in front of him.

“he can thank me later.”

atsumu brainrot never ends. something short and sweet bc school is kicking my ass.

[teddybeartoji]

18+ mdni; gn!reader + dub/noncon + piss kink

mean, mean suguru, who pushes down on your bladder with a sick grin, completely ignoring the way you’re pawing at his arms, begging for him to stop. you glance back and over your shoulder in hopes of him showing you mercy but to your misfortune, your tear-stained cheeks and your pleading eyes only make him want to do it even more. 

his lips brush against your temple as he coos at you, the hushed praise he drowns you in so sickeningly sweet that refusing him becomes simply impossible. he holds you close, your back pressed flush against his broad chest while his one hand stays splayed across your lower tummy and the other holds onto your neck, successfully (and way too easily) keeping you right where he wants you. 

his warm breath fans your skin. “let go for me, angel, hm?”

condescending.

you already know that he’ll tease you for it if you do as he asks, he’ll never let you live it down but… you can’t hold it. the pressure is building fast, way too fast, and he can fucking tell. you squirm on his lap, twisting one way and then another but to no avail – you can’t pull away nor can you push away. more tears cascade over the apples of your cheeks and you just feel so helpless. 

suguru doesn’t care that you’re clawing at his arms, he doesn’t care that your nails are tearing into his skin; all he can hear is your adorable mewls and your pathetic little attempts of making him stop. he can’t wait for you to turn pliant and docile as you melt into him after him. he knows you’ll do it because he knows you. 

he knows what you want and what you need better than you do. 

you cry out his name when he presses his hand into you even stronger but before you can beg him some more, the band in your lower tummy snaps and you feel warmth spread from between your thighs. 

soaking your own clothes and his, you shake and tremble as embarrassment burns your body. suguru lets you sit there for a moment, knowing that you’re ashamed to your core. 

knowing that he’ll get to comfort you now. 

“my baby.” 

the words come out like a purr and you hate how they make your heart stutter. 

he snakes his arms around you, so he can hold you properly now, and swoons when you try to nuzzle back into him. you reach up and bury your hand into his hair, tugging him a little closer to yourself. 

with your head resting back on his chest and your eyes closed, you can’t see the way his lips curl up into another grin. he treasures every sniffle you give him, he takes them as his precious rewards. 

his bulge presses into your back and you do your best to ignore it. your body is so tired, you’re fucking exhausted from all of the crying. but when he rolls his hips forward, you know it isn’t over just yet. 

suguru’s thumb meets the plush flesh of your wobbly lower lip and he can’t help but let out a pleased hum as he pushes inside. he feels over your sharp canines without ever looking away from your mouth and you watch his eyes grow darker when he presses down onto your tongue. so warm and so wet, you’re fucking perfect. 

his gaze finds yours and your breath hitches at the sight of his wolfish grin. 

“must be hungry now though, yeah?”